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The central Africa is a center of diversity and speciation for the Solanaceae. The objective of this study was to inventory and to examine the diversity of the specimens of herbaria of the Solanaceae harvested in the central Africa region (Rwanda Burundi-DR Congo) and, to establish the ecological characters of species inventoried in the Herbarias. The specimens of Herbarias of BR, P, BRLU and IUK of the University of Kinshasa have been studied. An analysis of 3650 specimens of herbaria indicates that the Solanaceae in central Africa are only represented with 15 kinds for 61 species. The Capsicum kinds (2 species), Solanum (36 species), Brugmansia (2 species), Physalis (3 species), Solandra (1 species), Petunia (1espece), Discopodium (1 species), Datura (3 species), Nicandra (1 species), Whitania (1 species), Nicotiana (2 species), Cestrum (2 species), Brunfelsia (1 species), Physalis (3), Cestrum (2 species), Petunia (1 species), Datura (3 species). The Solanum, kind alone, is represented with 36 species for the central Africa. In this geographical area of central Africa the Solanaceae are distributed in all countries which compose the phytogeographic regions of central Africa.

Solanaceae é uma das maiores famílias de plantas vasculares, com 100 gêneros e ca. de 2.500 espécies, com distribuição subcosmopolita e maior diversidade na região Neotropical. Este trabalho realizou um levantamento florístico das espécies de Solanaceae no município de Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, em área ecotonal entre Caatinga e Mata Atlântica. Foram realizadas coletas semanais de agosto/2019 a março/2020, totalizando 30 espécimes, depositados nos herbários HUESBVC e HVC. Foram registradas 19 espécies, distribuídas em nove gêneros: Brunfelsia (2 spp.), Capsicum (1 sp.), Cestrum (1 sp.), Datura (1 sp.), Iochroma (1 sp.) Nicandra (1 sp.), Nicotiana (1 sp.), Physalis (1 sp.) e Solanum (10 spp.). Dentre as espécies coletadas, cinco são endêmicas para o Brasil e 11 foram novos registros para o município. Nossos resultados demonstram que Solanaceae é uma família de elevada riqueza de espécies no município, contribuindo para o conhecimento da flora local.

Physalis L., an important genus of the family Solanaceae, includes many commercially important edible and medicinal species. Traditionally, species identification is based on morphological traits; however, the highly similar morphological traits among species of Physalis make this approach difficult. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using a popular DNA barcode, the chloroplast psbA–trnH intergenic region, in the identification of species of Physalis. Thirty-six psbA–trnH regions of species of Physalis and of the closely related plant Nicandra physalodes were analyzed. The success rates of PCR amplification and sequencing of the psbA–trnH region were 100%. MEGA V6.0 was utilized to align the psbA–trnH sequences and to compute genetic distances. The results show an apparent barcoding gap between intra- and interspecific variations. Results of both BLAST1 and nearest-distance methods prove that the psbA–trnH regions can be used to identify all species examined in the present study. In addition, phylogenetic analysis using psbA–trnH data revealed a distinct boundary between species. It also confirmed the relationship between species of Physalis and closely related species, as established by previous studies. In conclusion, the psbA–trnH intergenic region can be used as an efficient DNA barcode for the identification of species of Physalis.

Nicandra physaloides, finds its extended phyto-geographical range from Deccan peninsula to part of Eastern Ghats in Odisha, India. The detailed description, correct nomenclature, ecological notes and distribution along with photographs of the taxon has been provided.

At the beginning of 2000, a damaging disease developed on protected tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) crops grown in polyethylene greenhouses in different regions of Spain. Production losses were estimated at 15 to 80%. The tomato plants showed a variety of symptoms. The most common symptoms were leaf distortion, chlorosis, and mosaic. Some plants showed a dark green mosaic and bubbling of the leaf surface. Green striations were also observed on the stem and sepals. Most of the diseased plants had discolored fruits. Symptoms decreased as environmental temperature increased. The involvement of Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) was suspected. To identify the etiological agent, ≈500 symptomatic tomato plants were collected from several locations in Alicante, Murcia, Almeria and the Canary Islands. Flexuous viral particles 510 nm long were observed by transmission electron microscopy, suggesting the presence of a potexvirus in the tissue extracts analyzed. All samples were tested by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), using polyclonal antibodies to Narcissus mosaic virus (Adgen, Auchincriuve, Scotland), a virus serologically related to PepMV, and two antisera specific to PepMV (Adgen, Scotland and DMSZ, Braunschweig, Germany). PepMV was detected in 35% of the samples. Like PepMV, the virus infected (as confirmed by ELISA) greenhouse-grown Datura stramonium, Nicandra physalodes, Nicotiana benthamiana, N. clevelandii, Solanum tuberosum, and Vigna sinensis and did not infect Capsicum anuum, Cucumis sativus, Chenopodium amaranticolor, C. quinoa, Petunia × hybrida, Phaseolus vulgaris, Physalis floridana, N. glutinosa, N. rustica, or N. tabacum. The virus did infect Gomphrena globosa, which normally is not infected by PepMV. The first report of PepMV was on pepino (Solanum muricatum) in Peru in 1974 (1), but this virus has been recently reported in the Netherlands, England, Germany, and France on protected tomato crops (2). To our knowledge, this is the first report of PepMV in Spain, including the Canary Islands. References: (1) R. A. C. Jones et al. Ann. Appl. Biol. 94:61, 1980. (2) European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO). Alert List Viruses. On-line publication/2000/003.

Petunia plants from a nursery in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, showed pronounced vein banding and contained isometric particles with diameters of approximately 45 and 30 nm. The larger ones apparently represent a caulimovirus, while the smaller ones, which included both empty shells and full particles, were identified as those of a new tymovirus for which we propose the name Petunia vein banding virus (PetVBV). Originally, PetVBV was transmitted only with difficulty to healthy petunia plants. However, from an experimentally infected petu-nia, it was later readily transmitted also to Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicandra physalodes, but not to other species in the Solanaceae or other plant families. It produces cytopathic effects typical for tymovirus infections. Its coat protein shows approximately 65% amino acid sequence identity with those of Eggplant mosaic and Andean potato latent viruses, to which it is also serologically more closely related than to any other tymoviruses.

During 2007–2012, Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) was detected in volunteer cultivated, wild and native plants during studies to determine whether Pospiviroids occur within the isolated, sub-tropical, Gascoyne Horticultural District (GHD) in central coastal Western Australia (WA). PSTVd was detected infecting volunteer crop plants of tomato, pepper and chilli; introduced weed species Solanum nigrum (blackberry nightshade), Datura leichhardtii (thornapple) and Nicandra physalodes (apple-of-Peru) (Solanaceae), and Conyza bonariensis (flaxleaf fleabane) (Asteraceae); and Australian native species Atriplex semilunaris (annual saltbush), Rhagodia eremaea (thorny saltbush) (Chenopodiaceae), and Streptoglossa sp. (Asteraceae). PSTVd was also detected infecting Physalis angulata (wild gooseberry) in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA), Kimberley region in north-west WA. Comparison of sequences from the three complete and 18 partial RNA nucleotide sequences obtained from 20 GHD and one ORIA isolates with those of published sequences showed that their highest nucleotide sequence identities were to isolate AY962324 belonging to the Chittering strain from south-west WA. On phylogenetic analysis, the three completely sequenced GHD PSTVd isolates grouped within a cluster of isolates from tomato and P. peruviana. These results show that a naturally occurring PSTVd inoculum reservoir is present in the GHD. This reservoir explains the occurrence of repeated PSTVd infections in different years in field crops of tomato, pepper and chilli growing in its market gardens and small farms. These findings have implications concerning PSTVd spread in intensive solanaceous crop field production systems in other subtropical regions of the world.

Nicandra physalodes is an alien plant in southern China, possessing important medicinal values. In this study, we sequenced complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of N. physalodes and investigated its phylogenetic relationship in the family Solanaceae. The total length of the chloroplast genome was 156,729 bp, with 37.8% overall GC content and exhibited typical quadripartite structure, a pair of IRs (inverted repeats) of 25,529 bp was separated by a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,560 bp and a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,111 bp. The cp genome contained 113 genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated N. physalodes was closely related to Datura stramonium.

In this work a morphoanatomical comparative characterization was carried out between the leaves of Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn. and Physalis angulata L. (Solanaceae) species used in folk medicine, whose leaves are indicated as diuretic and febrifuge. The botanical identification and macroscopical morphodiagnosis were made after morphological studies. The microscopical morphodiagnosis were carried out by paradermic and transversal cuts of the leaves (blade and petiole), clarified and coloured with safranin and astrablue. Moreover the morphological characters of the flower and fruit, of the two species can be distinguished by the following characters: N. physalodes has the bundle vascular of the middle vein in arc format; P. angulata has the vascular bundle of the middle vein in a semi-circle format; druses in the mesophyll of P. angulata; andthe presence of trichomes glandular-estipitate with bisseriate head in N. physalodes. The morphology of flower and fruit and the anatomy of mesophyll, the vascular bundles of middle vein are the principal distinctive characters between them.

Areas surrounding the glasshouses of 60 growers, and 16 plant markets, were surveyed in 2001/ 2003 to determine the distribution of dipterous leafminers in Lithuania, including regulated species. In total, 152 species belonging to 7 families were discovered, and the infested host plants represented 46 families. The relative frequency of Liriomyza bryoniae was 32% in the vicinity of glasshouses and 19% in market places. This species attacked plant genera such as: Amaranthus, Beta, Bryonia, Chenopodium, Cucwnis, Datura, Gypsophila, Lycopersicon, Nicandra, Nicotiana, Physalis, Petunia, Sisymbrium, Solanum, Spinacia and Viola. The same plant genera also potentially provide sites for the survival of economically important species, Liriomyza huidobrensis and Liriomyza trifolii, in Lithuania.

A leaf-feeding tortoise beetle (Gratiana spadicea) was screened as a potential biological control agent for the invasive exotic weed Solanum sisymbriifolium in South Africa. Favorable biological characteristics of G. spadicea include a high rate of increase, long-lived and mobile adults, several generations per year, and a high per capita feeding rate. Host range was investigated in larval survival tests and adult choice tests under laboratory conditions. Larvae were successfully reared on 8 of 11 indigenous Solanum species, on 4 of 5 exotic Solanum species (apart from S. sisymbriifolium), and on economically important S. melongena (eggplant) but not on any of the species of Datura, Nicandra, and Physalis tested. Very limited adult feeding and oviposition occurred on several of the indigenous Solanum species and on eggplant. These trials were conducted under quarantine conditions with the potential for laboratory artifacts. The poor larval survival on nonhosts and the inability of the agent to recognize nonhosts as oviposition sites supported a request for release of this agent, which was subsequently granted.

The small genusExodeconus Rafinesque (Solanaceae) from Ecuador and Peru is revised for the first time. Six species are recognised. Key, descriptions, lectotypifications, illustrations, and distribution maps are provided. The new combinationExodeconus integrifolius (Philippi)Axelius is made. A hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationships within the genus, based on parsimony analyses of morphological data, is presented in form of a cladogram. A method to reveal hybrids by comparing their placement in cladograms based on morphological or on chloroplast DNA data, respectively, is presented. In light of this, a hypothesis of a hybrid origin ofExodeconus, or of the related genusNicandra Adanson, is discussed.

A determinação da gama de hospedeiros de begomovírus isolados de tomateiro (Lycopersicon esculentum) é de elevada importância nos estudos conduzidos com esses patógenos, uma vez que contribui para o entendimento da larga disseminação dos vírus em condições de campo e oferece subsídios para o estudo da variabilidade genética de espécies e estirpes identificadas em diversas regiões do país. Visando a determinação e a comparação da gama de hospedeiros de dois isolados de begomovírus de tomateiro obtidos de lavouras da região de Anápolis-GO (GO-ANPL) e do Distrito Federal (DF-BR2) inocularam-se 31 espécies vegetais pertencentes a oito famílias botânicas, sob duas modalidades de inoculação: mecânica e com a mosca branca, Bemisia tabaci biótipo B. Constatou-se que o GO-ANPL e o DF-BR2 infetaram exclusivamente plantas da família Solanaceae como Datura stramonium, Nicandra physalodes e Nicotiana benthamiana. Para o GO-ANPL, o número de espécies vegetais infetadas com o emprego do inseto vetor foi superior ao obtido pela inoculação mecânica, diferindo dos resultados obtidos para o DF-BR2 em que as plantas hospedeiras foram igualmente infetadas em ambos os métodos de inoculação. A comparação entre as hospedeiras dos dois isolados e destes com as de outros begomovírus de tomateiro da região Nordeste revelaram que há variação tanto nas espécies hospedeiras como na sintomatologia exibida pelas plantas infetadas. Os testes foram todos confirmados com hibridização com sondas moleculares, em "dot blot". Determination of the begomovirus host range determination in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is an important feature in unveiling the genetic variability of species and strains of the virus and how it spreads under field conditions. In order to determine the host range of two begomoviruses isolated from tomato, denoted GO-ANPL and DF-BR2, 31 plant species of eight botanical families were tested via mechanical and vector inoculation. Both isolates only infected plants of the family Solanaceae as Datura stramonium, Nicandra physalodes e Nicotiana benthamiana. The GO-ANPL isolate infected a higher number of plants when they were inoculated by the insect vector. Results were distinct from those obtained with the DF-BR2 isolate, where both inoculation methods were equally effective. Comparison between these two isolates with other begomoviruses reported in Northeast Brazil revealed different patterns in host range and symptomss. Virus infection was confirmed by dot blot hybridization using specific molecular probes to begomovirus isolates.

The configuration and conformation of nicandrenone, isolated from Nicandra physalodes, are described using molecular modeling and NMR NOESY techniques. Amsterdam Density Functional (ADF) software was used, and the structures were those reduced to minimum energy molecular models, utilizing B3LYP executions and Density Functional Theory (DFT). The first spectral proof that this withanolide has a 22-R configuration is also provided. This method may be adaptable to other natural products.

Potato virus A (PVA; genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae) occurs wherever potatoes are grown and may reduce tuber yields as much as 40%. Its host range consists of six experimental hosts (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (Jusl.) P. Mill., Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn., Nicotiana tabacum L., Solanum demissum Lindl., S. demissum × S. tuberosum [2], and Nicotiana debneyi Domin.) and two natural hosts (S. tuberosum L. and S. betaceae (Cav.) Sendt.) (2). Aphids transmit PVA in a stylet-born manner. Its difficult mechanical transmission, caused by a low virus concentration in potato and other hosts (1), has constrained pathological research on the virus. In routine studies to identify virus isolates from the field, we discovered that N. megalosiphon Van Heurck & Mull. Agr. is a superior host of PVA that markedly facilitated diagnosis, selection for resistance to PVA, and other research applications. The efficiency of mechanical transmission of PVA to potato (5 duplicated assays and 10 plants per assay) ranged from 0 to 10% with PVA-infected potato as the virus source, 0 to 30% with Nicandra physalodes, 10 to 30% with N. tabacum cv. Samsun, and 20 to 80% with N. megalosiphon as the source of virus. The efficiency of mechanical transmission to four systemic hosts of PVA with potato (cv. Russet Burbank) as the source of virus (5 duplicated assays and 10 plants per assay) ranged from 0 to 20% to potato, 0 to 30% to Nicandra physalodes, 10 to 40% to N. tabacum cv. Samsun, and 80 to 100% to N. megalosiphon. The superiority of N. megalosiphon as a host and source of PVA was associated with a high virus concentration in tissues. Infected potato leaves yielded 0.32 to 0.54 mg of virus per kg of infected leaves, Nicandra physalodes yielded 0.37 to 0.66 mg per kg, N. tabacum cv. Samsun yielded 0.78 to 1.22 mg per kg, and N. megalosiphon yielded 5.16 to 9.39 mg per kg of infected leaves in five different purification experiments. These yields are based on the amount of virus isolated in sucrose gradients subjected to rate-zonal centrifugation as the last step in purification (3). The virus antigen concentrations of the original PVA-infected tissues measured using quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ranked virus concentrations in the same relative order as purification but were nearly 2 times higher than were the purification yields. Similarly, local lesion assays on S. demissum A leaves (4) ranked infectious virus concentrations in the same order as did purification. Efficiency of aphid transmission from the four hosts was not assayed. Infected N. megalosiphon plants survived and served as sources of PVA for at least 1 year in a greenhouse. N. megalosiphon is an important new host of PVA because it facilitates the routine transmission of the virus and other manipulations essential for efficient research on control of the virus disease. References: (1) R. Bartels. No. 54 in: Descriptions of Plant Viruses. CMI, Kew, Surrey, UK, 1971. (2) A. Brunt. Page 77 in: Virus and Virus-Like Diseases of Potatoes and Production of Seed Potatoes. G Loebenstein et al., eds. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, 2001. (3) P. E. Thomas and W. K. Kaniewski. Page 285 in: Virus and Virus-Like Diseases of Potatoes and Production of Seed Potatoes, G. Loebenstein et al., eds. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, 2001. (4) R. E. Webb and R. W. Buck. Am Potato J. 32:248, 1955.

Potato virus A (PVA; genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae) occurs wherever potatoes are grown and may reduce tuber yields as much as 40%. Its host range consists of six experimental hosts (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (Jusl.) P. Mill., Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn., Nicotiana tabacum L., Solanum demissum Lindl., S. demissum × S. tuberosum, and Nicotiana debneyi Domin.) and two natural hosts (S. tuberosum L. and S. betaceae (Cav.) Sendt.) (1). N. physalodes and Nicotiana tabacum sometimes grow in nature in the eastern and southern United States (2) but have not been reported to be PVA sources in nature. PVA is known to survive winter in temperate climates only in tubers used for potato propagation and potato volunteers. We detected PVA in all six Black Nightshade (S. nigrum L.) and all six Hairy Nightshade (S. sarrachoides Sendt.) weeds expressing mild mosaic symptoms and growing in PVA-infected potato fields near Prosser, WA in September of 2002. PVA was not detected in any of the 24 Cutleaf Nightshade (S. trifolium) plants selected from the same fields. The virus was detected using double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with a test kit obtained from Agdia, Inc. (Elkhart, IN) and by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using primers designated 3 (gta-ctg-aac-tgg-aaa-agt-act) and 4 (ccc-tga-cag-ttg-aaa-cat-aag) (3). One positive control for these assays was a PVA virus isolate from the “Shultz Collection” provided by Robert Goth (USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD) in 1986. The Agdia, Inc. test kit also provided a positive control. We also transmitted PVA from one of the Black Nightshade and one of the Hairy Nightshade weeds to greenhouse-produced Nicotiana megalosiphon Van Heurck & Mull. Agr., Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsum NN, S. tuberosum cv. Russet Burbank, S. sarrachoides, and S. nigrum plants by Myzus persicae Sulzer in a stylet-borne manner. The virus was transmitted from the greenhouse test plants back to S. sarrachoides and S. nigrum plants where it produced mild mosaic symptoms identical to virus from the original sources. PVA was not transmitted from weedy sources to Datura tatula L., Physalis floridana Rydb., or S. trifolium. M. persicae readily colonized S. sarrachoides, S. nigrum, and S. trifolium in the field and greenhouse. Since black and hairy nightshade are frequently found in potato fields (4) and our findings show these weeds to be hosts of PVA, their role in the epidemiology of this disease should be more fully evaluated. References: (1) A. Brunt. Potyviruses. Pages 77–86 in: Virus and Virus-Like Diseases of Potatoes and Production of Seed Potatoes. G. Loebenstein et al., eds. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 2001 (2) A. Ogg and B. S. Rogers. Rev. Weed Sci. 4:25, 1989. (3) M. Rajamaki et al. Virology 88:311, 1998. (4) USDA, NTPD, National Plant Data Center, Version 3.5 On-line Publication, 2004.

SUMMARY Cassava latent virus (CLV) is almost entirely confined in East Africa to upland cassava-growing areas west of the Rift Valley, where it is often associated with cassava mosaic disease (it was isolated from 27 of 38 cassava plants with mosaic, but not from 24 without mosaic). However, it is not the causal agent, because it was not recovered from any of 31 mosaic-diseased plants in coastal districts. All attempts to return CLV to cassava failed. The host range of CLV appears to be limited to Euphorbiaceae (Manihot) and Solanaceae (Nicotiana, Datura, Nicandra, Solanum). N. clevelandii proved the most useful assay and propagation host. The dilution end-point of CLV was about 10-3, thermal inactivation point about 55°C, and longevity in vitro about 3 days. CLV was purified by clarification of leaf extracts with butanol/chloroform mixtures. Purified preparations (A 260/A 280 ratio c. 16) contained numerous 30 20 nm paired particles with a sedimentation coefficient (s20w) of 76 S. Treatment with RNase and DNase showed that the viral nucleic acid is DNA; CLV closely resembles maize streak virus but is not related to it serologically. The cryptogram for CLV is D/1: 0.8/*: S/S: S/*, geminivirus group.

SUMMARY A previously undescribed plant virus, Solanum apical leaf curling virus (SALCV), was found in cultivated potato and indigenous wild solanaceous plants in an area of high jungle near San Ramon, Peru. Symptoms in potato consisting of red, purple or pink discoloration, curling, crinkling and dwarfing of apical leaves develop soon after infection. Symptoms from tuber-borne infection may also include dwarfing and stunting, dormancy may be prolonged and sprouts may be filiform producing small plants with very thin stems. The virus is transmissible by grafting, but was not transmitted through seed, by aphids or leafhoppers tested, nor by mechanical inoculation of sap. Infected Datura tatula and D. stramonium, the most useful indicator hosts, developed yellowing of the small veins of newly formed leaves followed by distortion, dwarfing, and cupping of subsequently formed leaves. Tomato, Solanum nigrum, Nicandra physalodes and Nicotiana benthamiana were also infected experimentally. N. physalodes, Solanum basendopogon, D. tatula and Physalis peruviana were naturally infected in the field. Antiserum produced in rabbits was suitable for ELISA which detected SALCV in a range of graft-inoculated and naturally infected plants. Most virus particles in purified preparations and those trapped on antiserum sensitised grids treated with infective sap were c. 52 times 17 nm and consisted of three quasi-isometric units in a straight chain. This particle morphology although novel, suggests possible affinities with geminiviruses.

The acarian Eriophyes cladophthirus Nal. causes necrosis of the vegetative shoots of tomato and Nicandra and an inhibition and a modification of their apical growth, which are often accompanied by fasciation phenomena, the development of supernumerary buds and the proliferation of various shapes on the leaves. The foliar proliferations are warts, simple outgrowths, radially or dorsiventrally symmetrical appendices looking like small leaves and neoformed buds. In both species, intermediate forms of the various categories are found. The radially or dorsiventrally symmetrical appendices are simple or branched, vascularized or not, irregularly grouped or laid out in a more or less obvious phyllotaxy. They may appear directly on the leaf or may be the result of the activity of a neoformed apex. In this great diversity of shapes, many morphological continua, based on a number of criteria (symmetry, vascularization, etc.), have been identified. Some of them are common to both species, others only pertain to one or the other. [Journal translation]

Tlie known or actual host-plant range of Lema trilineata (Olivier) sensu latu was compiled from literature records, host records in insect collections, and original observations. The potential host range of L. trilineata daturaphila Kogan & Goeden was defined by means of a paired comparison test using leaf discs punched from 30 species of test plants and from Datura meteloides A. DC, the standard of comparison. Feeding was quantitatively evaluated using a photometric technique. Lema t. daturaphila apparently is restricted to the Solanaceae, showing a marked feeding preference for plants belonging to the genera Datura, Physalis, Atropa, Nicandra, and Salpichroa .

Green peach aphids reared on turnip stecklings acquired a virus that was transmitted to plants of Physalis floridana Rydb. and P. pubescens L., hosts used in potato leaf roll studies. Symptoms on these hosts consisted of a yellowing of the veins of the leaves. Nicandra physalodes L., when infected, showed severe stunting and chlorosis. The virus was carried without symptoms on turnips and showed only slight stunting on several species of Brassica. It was not transmitted by mechanical inoculation and it does not appear to be similar to any of the viruses previously reported in turnips. The aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) acquired the virus during a seven-hour feeding period, and after a latent period of approximately 23 hr., transmitted the virus during a one-hour test-feeding period. Once infective, aphids remained so for several days.

The floral anatomy of fourteen genera and twenty-one species of the Solanaceae was examined. The arrangement of the genera is according to Wettstein in Engler and Prantl's Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien. In the order of their complexity, these genera include Nicandra, Lycium, Atropa, Hyoscyamus, Physalis, Capsicum, Solanum, Lycopersicon, Datura, Nicotiana, Petunia, Nierembergia, Salpiglossis, and Schizanthus. The following evolutionary tendencies were noted: actinomorphy to zygomorphy; reduction of fertile stamens from five to two; and reduction in the number of adaxial bundles from two per carpel to one for two carpels. Despite these variations, the floral anatomy follows the same basic plan in all the species studied. The siphonostele generally becomes continuous after the divergences to each of the first three floral sets, and the carpellary bundles are formed from the remaining vascular tissue. Because the adaxial bundles are amphicribral and accompanied by gaps in the vascular cylinder, they are fo...

Oviposition and feeding of the tobacco hornworm arc almost entirely restricted to plants of the family Solinaceae. Oviposition appears to be initiated by olfactory stimuli widely distributed in this plant family, and consequently it, is largely suppressed in the absence of host plants or after excision of the antennae. Both in the field and laboratory, the moths preferred tomato foliage over other solanaceous plants for oviposition. Larval feeding appears to be governed by gustatory stimuli common to plants of this family. On certain ones, such as Nicandra and Petunia , feeding and growth are limited by the presence of repellents or toxins. Some limited feeding occurred on certain nonsolanaceous plants after various periods of starvation.

\TICANDRA PHYSALOIDES is the solitary species of its genus or J V even tribe. Like some of its nearest relatives in Nicotiana it is a native of Peru and Chile. Like them, too, it has become nearly cosmopolitan in cultivation in the last 200 years. It is widely naturalized in the tropics. It was introduced into gardens in this country in 1759 and is still a favourite botanic garden plant. In cultivation and as an escape four completely interfertile 'varieties', or rather variants, can be recognized and we are indebted for them to the following sources: (i) typica, corresponding to the figure in Curtis's 'Botanical Magazine' (No. 2458): from the Botanic Gardens of Kew (4 plants) and of Montreal (30 plants); and collected for us by Dr. S. C. Harland near Lima (6 plants). (ii) violacea, having stronger pigmentation of stem, petiole, calyx, leafhairs, and seeds than typica but intergrading polygenically with it; erroneously described by Lemoine (1906) as a distinct species: from Kew Gardens (10 plants). (iii) immaculata, lacking the corolla spot and the leaf-haii» and cotyledon pigmentation; a recessive single-gene variant, heterozygotes selfed having given us 307 normal to 100 spotless (cf. Dahlgren, 1924): collected in Malabar and from Kew Gardens (22 plants), (iv) alba, with white instead of blue flowers probably also a recessive singlegene variant: from Cambridge Botanic Gardens (6 plants). The first three variants were also found as escapes from earlier cultivation at Merton.

The known withanolide nicandrenone (1) is primarily responsible for the IN VITRO cytotoxicity of extracts prepared from NICANDRA PHYSALODES (Solanaceae).

Summary. Infection of numerous species of Solanaceae by Synchylrium endobioticum has been obtained using Glynne's “green wart” method. Plants grown in contaminated soil did not show infection. The following new hosts are recorded: Solanum dulcamara var. villosissimum, Nicandra physalodes, Solanum dulcamara alba, Solanum nodiflorum and Solanum villosum. In certain hosts the fungus may occur in the tissues with little or no external sign of its presence. I am indebted to Dr W. B. Brierley for helpful criticism and suggestions received during the course of this work; and to the Director, Research and Experimental Station, Cheshunt, Herts, The Director. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey, The Regius Keeper, Royai Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, and Martin H. Sutton, Esq., Erlegh Park, Whiteknights, Reading, for seed and tubers used in the experiments.